The Earth is warming at an alarming rate. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global warming has already reached 1.1 degrees Celsius since the 1850s. 

The impacts of climate change are already being felt around the world, in the form of more extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and melting glaciers. These impacts are causing widespread damage to nature and people, and they are only going to get worse if we don't take action. 

The Climate Reality Project Philippines was honored to be invited to a recent panel discussion attended by a group of volunteer judges working hand-in-hand with the US Embassy of the Philippines Cultural Exchange Program. 

During the panel “In Defense of Independent Judiciary: A Colloquium on the Rule of Law and Climate Justice” held at the Far Eastern University - Institute of Law in 2024, Nazrin Castro, manager of Climate Reality in the Philippines, highlighted the increasingly important role of the judiciary in climate action around the world. 

Here is a summary of points Castro conveyed to the judges from the perspective of climate science and global and national frameworks: 

Countries do acknowledge the scale and urgency of the climate crisis 

Through the Paris Agreement, which was adopted in 2015, nations committed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and to mobilize support for vulnerable developing countries, following the principles of climate justice, equity, and common but differentiated responsibilities. 

The treaty recognizes that highly industrialized countries are largely responsible for the climate crisis, and therefore gives them a greater responsibility to reduce their emissions and provide financial, technological, and capacity-building support to developing countries. 

The treaty is legally binding within national jurisdictions. In the Philippines, the Executive Department prepared the Instruments of Accession, which the Philippine Senate concurred on. The government submitted its ratification to the UN in 2017. 

Following this, nations submitted their respective Nationally Determined Contribution, in support of the goal to hold global warming to 1.5 C. Developed countries also needed to mobilize $100 billion of climate finance, starting in 2020, as support for developed countries. But on these two fronts, developed countries have so far failed to deliver. 

Climate change is a human rights issue 

This was affirmed by the 2022 report of the Commission on Human Rights, following a seven-year investigation into the impacts of climate change on the Philippines and the duty of states and private actors to address the increasing frequency and severity of climate-related disasters. 

The National Inquiry on Climate Change (NICC) report stated that climate change is “negatively impacting the human rights of the Filipino people and adversely affecting the right to life” and that “neglect in climate change mitigation may be considered human rights violation.” 

The NICC report emphasized that the Philippine government has a legal and moral obligation to protect its citizens from the human rights impacts of climate change, which include: 

Right to life: Climate change is increasing the risk of death from extreme weather events, such as typhoons, floods, and landslides. 

Right to health: Climate change is increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses, infectious diseases, and malnutrition. 

Right to food: Climate change is disrupting agricultural production and leading to food shortages and price increases. 

Right to water: Climate change is leading to water scarcity and pollution. Right to housing: Climate change is damaging and destroying homes and communities. 

Right to livelihood: Climate change is disrupting economic activities and leading to job losses. 

Right to education: Climate change is disrupting school attendance and damaging educational infrastructure. 

Right to culture: Climate change is threatening traditional livelihoods and cultural practices. 

Right to self-determination: Climate change is forcing people to migrate and abandon their homes and communities. 

The NICC report also found that “carbon majors within the Philippine jurisdiction may be required to undertake human rights due diligence and provide remediation.” This suggests that it is open to the possibility of penalizing polluters, particularly carbon majors, who are found to be responsible for human rights violations caused by climate change. 

While the report is non-binding, it should set a precedent that can influence our legal institutions. The report's recommendations could lead to the development of new laws and policies that would hold polluters accountable, as well as give Filipinos new tools to seek justice from polluters. 

Polluters must not only pay, but they must also stop polluting 

Current emissions need to fall by 45 percent by 2030 to ensure we are within the climate threshold of 1.5 C. And even if we achieve this, we also need to ensure that we have the resources and the capacity to adapt to climate impacts in a world that is warmer by 1.5 C. But seeing our progress now, we are failing on both. 

The judiciary should now be a part of addressing the climate crisis by serving as an instrument in holding polluters accountable. We need to work on greening our courts in the sense that it could foster more accountability and prohibit actions to curtail the effects of climate change at the pace and scale we need it to. 

In emphasizing these three points to the judiciary, Climate Reality Philippines urged the judiciary to: 

Interpret and enforce climate change laws and regulations. Courts can make governments and businesses answer for their actions on climate change and guarantee that they are following our laws, including the Climate Change Act of 2009. 

Develop new legal theories and precedents. Courts can use their authority to create new legal theories and precedents that can help to address the challenges of climate change. 

Provide a forum for public participation. Courts can provide a forum for individuals and communities to challenge government policies and actions that are harmful to the climate. For example, courts have allowed citizens to sue governments for failing to take action on climate change. 

The Philippine courts must realize their important role in providing justice for vulnerable populations who are at constant risk and danger due to climate change, despite not causing it.